What is drilling?
Drilling is a listening and speaking exercise using prompts from the teacher, from words or from pictures. Driling is not reading. Students reading aloud a sentence on the board isn't drilling; it's reading.
While most teachers might only use one kind of drill, there are in fact quite a few different kinds.
Come join me on March 20th, 2011 as we explore the importance of effective drilling and how it is done!
Jingle bells... Jingle bells... Jingle all the way!
Once again, Christmas is just around the corner. Looking for games for your children's Christmas party? Come join me on December 5th (Sunday) for another smashing presentation on games for Christmas.
Venue: Tsukuba International Congress Center, EPOCHAL TSUKUBA
4 Floor Conference Hall 407 http://www.epochal.or.jp/
Date: December 5th (Sunday), 2010
Time: 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Note: Pre-registration required.
(You can pre-registered by clicking on the COMMENTS button below)
Limited to 30 participants only.
Divide the board into two by drawing a line. Write HAPPY HALLOWEEN at the right side and TRICK OR TREAT at the left side. Prepare a set of letters for the same words in two different colors (orange and black) and attach magnets at the back of each letter. Hide the letters in random around the room and group the class into two (2) teams. Assign each team a banner HAPPY HALLOWEEN (orange team) vs. TRICK OR TREAT (black) team. Say; "Go!" players start to find letters and form the words of their banner. If a player is on "orange" team and sees a letter for the "black" team he/she just leave it alone. The first team to complete their banner wins.
Note: To make the game more challenging players are instructed to follow the sequence of the letters on the banner.
Children sit in a circle. Teacher says; "I went into the haunted house and saw (a black cat)!" All players say; "Happy Halloween!" to other players to their right and to their left. The teacher continues; "I went into the haunted house and saw (a ghost)!" All players say; "Happy Halloween!" to other players to their right and to their left. "I wen into the haunted house and saw (a robot)!" All players stand and change chairs shouting; "Happy Halloween. Let's go!" The teacher quickly grabs a seat too. Now, there will be one player left standing without a seat, that player will be the new 'it'. He stands at the middle and starts the game all over again.
Jack O' Lantern Jack O' Lantern Halloween, Halloween Let's go trick or treating Let's go trick or treating Halloween, Halloween!
Children sit or stand in a circle, their backs to the wall. The "it" sits at the middle of the circle, head down and eyes closed. Children pass a small plastic Jack o' lantern (or card), while singing the Jack O' Lantern Song. After awhile, the 'it" shouts; "Stop!" Children stop singing. The player who has the pumpkin hides it at his back, the other players follow. The "it" will approach one of the players and say; "Happy Halloween!" If the player has the pumpkin he will show the pumpkin and say; "Happy Halloween!" If the player doesn't have the pumpkin he will show his hands, but will not say anything. The aim is for the "it" to find the pumpkin. The "it" is allowed to make three (3) guesses.
(Variation)
For big number players, choose three (3) or five (5) players to be the "it". They stand in front of the class facing the board with their backs to the class. All other players stand in random. Pass about five (5) small plastic pumpkins or cards at the same time, while singing the Jack O' Lantern Song. When the five "it" shout "Stop!" The class stop singing and the player(s) who has the pumpkins hide them. The five (5) "it" faces the class and try to find the pumpkins.
What is PECHA KUCHA? It is a six minutes and forty second presentation consist of twenty slides discussed in twenty seconds each. So fast, yet very informative and effective way to show off or sell your work. Here I borrowed the phrase and given it a new meaning with this game I created for Halloween.
Target Language
noun (Halloween characters)
adjectives
verbs
Players
ten or more
the whole class
Materials
picture cards of Halloween characters
How to play
Divide the players into five (or more) competing teams. Have each team stand at each corner of the room where each team can observe the others. Assign each team a Halloween character and the corresponding verb and action that best describes the character, like;
WICKED WITCH the verb FLY, with action of flying on a broom stick
JACK O' LANTERN the verb ROLL, with action of both hands doing a locomotion
BLACK CAT the verb CREEP, with action of cat like creeping
WHITE GHOST the verb FLOAT, with action of floating in the air
SCARY MONSTER the verb STOMP, with action of feet stomping alternately on the floor
Players say the name of the Halloween character two (2) times, say the verb three (3) times and do the action simultaneously before passing the task to another Halloween character. Example:
Black Cat Team: Black cat... Black cat... creep, creep, creep to Wicked Witch FLY!
Wicked Witch Team: Wicked witch... Wicked witch... fly, fly, fly to Jack o' lantern ROLL!
Jack o' Lantern Team: Jack o' Lantern... Jack o' Lantern... roll, roll, roll to White Ghost FLOAT!
... and so on.
Disqualify any group which commits mistake such as lack of synchronization or wrong action of the verb. Do not allow the action to be passes back to where it directly came.
Have you ever been to a subasta before? In the Philippines, subasta means auction , and it is defined as a type of sale where price of the item is negotiated through the process of competitive and open bidding. It is normally, a public sale at which items are sold to the person offering to pay the highest price.
This reinvention of auction for EFL classrooms doesn't have items up for sale and it doesn't have currencies or toy money involved. What is negotiated in this reinvention is vocabulary (target language), and the means of exchange are number cards. The aim of the game is to put up the highest number (from 2-10) possible to win. This is a "winner takes all" game, meaning the player to put up the highest number takes all the other cards.
Target Language
(In this video)
Class What do you have?
Player I have (some paper).
Also best for practicing:
(Occupations)
Class What does (he) do?
Player He is (a doctor).
(Places)
Class Where are you going?
Player I am going to (the park).
Players
four (4) or more
Materials
picture cards
number cards (tramp cards)
How to play
1. Determine the order of play.
2. Shuffle one deck of tramp cards (minus the Kings, Queens, Jacks, Jokers, and Aces), make two piles, and place them face down on the playing surface. Place a picture card (target language) between the piles of number cards, for example; picture card of ribbon. The class asks the question: "What do you have?"
3. The first player answers: "I have (some ribbon)." He then takes a number card from the pile; place the card in-front of him, but keeping it facedown.
4. The second player takes his turn. The class asks the question again: "What do you have?" The second player answers: "I have (some ribbon)." He then takes a number card from the pile; place the card in-front of him, but keeping it facedown.
5. The third player takes his turn and does the same. When all the players have had their turns, the teacher calls out: "Turn over your card now!"
6. Players turn over their cards at the same time. The player with the highest number takes all the cards. If there's a draw (two or more players with the same number), they do rock-scissors-paper, and the winner takes all the cards. The game continues until there are no more cards to turn over. The winner is the player with the most number of cards.
Ask any Filipino about Pukpok Palayok or Hampas Palayok, and chances are they played it or saw it played at least once during their childhoods. The game is so immensely popular that any celebration or town fiesta is not complete without children (oh yes, sometimes adults) playing it. Having colonized by the Spaniards for three hundred and thirty three years, Pukpok Palayok is the Filipino version of Pinata, and just like the fiesta, Spaniards used the game to attract the natives to their ceremonies and convert them to their religion. The Filipinos, known for reinventing things to suit their needs out of limited resources, adapted it by using a clay pot instead of the Mexican painted paper Pinata. In those times paper and paints were scarce and expensive, whereas clay pots were plentiful and cheap.
In the Philippines, pukpok means to hit, and palayok is a clay pot, so the game literally means to hit a pot. Traditionally, the game is played with the decorated clay pot filled with goodies (candies, sweets, coins, and sometimes peso bills), suspended by string in the air, high enough for players to reach and smash it. A player is blindfolded and a long bamboo stick is used to hit and break the pot, so that other players as well as by-standers can grab as many goodies as they can. The player who breaks the clay pot wins a prize, usually a gift or in currency.
For EFL classrooms, Pukpok Palayok uses no clay pot, nor a bamboo stick. Instead, the game makes use of the white board, picture cards (with magnets attached at the back), and an ovesize party hat (my children hate to be blindfolded with a handkerchief). In this adaptation, hitting is not permitted; children make use of their sense of directions, understanding of the commands given, and using their hands to feel for the targets. In my experience, the game works wonderfully for preschoolers, for teaching the alphabet, colors, shapes, animals, fruits and vegetables. While for elementary graders, it works very well for practicing specific target language like; ("I'm hungry! What do you want? I want ... Go find it!" or "Where are you going? I'm going to ... Go find it!"). In addition to target language, this is also a great way to reinforce language for giving directions like: go straight, to your left, to your right, stop, that's it,
Target Language
S1 : I'm hungry!
Class : What do you want?
S1 : I want (a hamburger).
Class : Go find it!
S1 : What's for lunch?
Class : (Spaghetti) is for lunch.
Do you want (spaghetti)?
S1 : Yes, please.
Class : Go find it!
Class : Where are you going?
S1 : I'm going to the (park).
Class : How are you going there?
S1 : I'm (riding a bicycle).
Class : Have fun!
Players
Two (2) or more the merrier
Materials
picture cards
board
magnets
a party hat (oversize) or a blidfold
How to play
1. Determine the order of play.
2. In random, using the magnets. attach all the picture cards on the board.
3. Instruct the players to remember the placements of each card.
4. The first player takes his turn. He stands 12 steps (more is better) away from
the board. The other players ask the question; for example, "What do you want?" The first player answers "I want (ahamburger). The other players
answer back "Go find it!"
5. The first player puts on the oversize hat (covering his face), and turns around
three (3) times.
6. The other players give directions, starting with "Go straight!" or "To your right!""To your left!" etc.
The aim is for the player to find the target by following directions given by
players (class).
(This game will need to be adapted to the teaching items you're teaching and the abilities and interests of the children you teach.)
Target Language
the alphabet
Players
two (2) or more
Materials alphabet cards
How to play
Best tried when children start to gain some mastery over the alphabet. In random, lay the alphabet cards on the playing surface or on the floor. Determine the order of play. The first player picks up letter Aa, says the letter and attach the card on the board. The second player picks up letter Bb, says the letter and attach the card on the board next to letter Aa. The next player picks up letter Cc and do the same. The aim is for the children to make a complete alphabet line from Aa to Zz. Once they're done, the children recite the alphabet together. Next, the teacher removes some letters in random. The children start again saying the alphabet , but when they come to a missing letter, they should not say the missing letter, instead they should clap their hands together. The player who will be out of synch (commit mistake) is eliminated.
Have fun and enjoy playing Alphabet Rhythmic Game with your children.
(This game will need to be adapted to the teaching items you're teaching and the abilities and interests of the children you teach.)
Target Language Q : What do you have in your bag? A : I have (a book) in my bag.
Q : How many (squares) are there? A : There are (ten squares).
Players five (5) or more
Materials small tote bag picture cards (playing size) music player
How to play Put the picture cards in the bag. Players stand in a circle. Play some music and players pass around the bag, but when the music stops the one who is holding the bag draws a card out from the bag and identify it. If he is right he keeps the card, if he can't identify it, he returns the card back into the bag and the game starts all over again. The game continue until all cards are gone. The player with the most card wins the game.
Have fun and enjoy Hot Tote Bag with your children!
(This game will need to be adapted to the teaching items you're teaching and the abilities and interests of the children you teach.)
Target Language Q : What is that? A : It's (a chair).
Q : Where are you going? A : I'm going to the (park). Q : How are you going there? A : I'm (walking).
Q : Who is (he)? A : He is (Mr. Brown). Q : What does (he) do? A : He is (a teacher).
Players two (2) or more
Materials picture cards music player
How to play In random, lay picture cards face down on the floor. Play fast beat music. Children hop in from card to card. When the music stops, children stop hopping and remain where they are. Players find a pair and do Rock-Scissors-Paper. The losser turns over his card and the pair do Q & A. The aim is for players not to step on the floor or on any identified cards. Children keep playing until all picture cards are all identified.
Have fun and enjoy playing Frogs In The pond with your children.
(This game will need to be adapted to the teaching items you're teaching and the abilities and interests of the children you teach.)
Target Language Q : How's the weather today? A : It's (sunny) today.
Q : What's the weather going to be like tomorrow? A : It's going to be (cloudy).
S : I'm hungry. Q : What do you want? S : I want (rice) and (fish).
Players five (5) or more
Materials picture cards (one less tthan the number of players) chairs (one less than the number of players)
How to play Players are seated in a circle. Shuffle the picture cards (the weather) and place them upside down on the floor. One by one players pick up a card without letting other players see it . The 'it' stands at the center of the circle, approach one of the player and ask the question, for example; How's the weather (the picture card)? If the answer is; It's rainy (the picture card)! The players remain seated. But if the answer is; It's sunny (the picture card)! Everybody shouts; Let's play! and exchange seats. The 'it' must also grab a seat. Whoever will be left without a seat will be the next 'it'. Play several rounds for mastery,
Have fun and enjoy Fruit Basket with your children!
(This game will need to be adapted to the teaching items you're teaching and the abilities and interests of the children you teach.)
Target Language Q : Can you (play the piano)? A : Yes, I can. No, I can't.
Q : Who is (he)? A : He is my (grandfather). Q : Who is (she)? A : She is my (sister).
Q : Where are you going? A : I'm going (to the park). Q : How are you going there? A : I'm (walking).
Q : Excuse me. Where is the(classroom)? A : It's next to the (office).
Players two (2) or more
Materials picture cards (teacher cards size) cards of naughts and crosses (student cards size) counters (colored magnets) magnets challk
How to play Draw two vertical lines parallel to each other mark START and GOAL. Give enough space between the two lines and draw (7) 'stone bridges' in it. Using magnets attach the (7) picture cards (one on each 'stone bridge'). Determine the order of play and give each player a counter(coloredmagnet). Shuffle enough number of noughts and crosses, make two piles and place them upside down on the playing surface. The players place their counters on START. The first player takes his turn, moves his counter to the first stone bridge. Answers the question and turns over a card from the pile. If the card shows a nought, he moves his counter to the second stone bridge and continue playing. But, if the card shows a cross, he stops playing and remain in the same stone bridge. The second player takes his turn and do the same. The aim is for the player to cross the stonebridges and reach the GOAL first.
Have fun and enjoy Stone Bridges with your children!
(This game will need to be adopted to the teaching items you're teaching and the abilities and interests of the children you teach.)
Target Language Q : What's this? A : It's (a bag). Q : Is this (an eraser)? A : Yes, it is. No, it isn't. It's (a crayon).
Q : How many (balls) are there? A : There are (three balls).
Q : Who is (he)? A : He is my (bother). Q : Who is (she)? A : She is my (grandmother).
Q : Can you (sing)? A : Yes, I can. No, I can't. But, I can (dance).
Q : Where are you going? A : I'm going to the (zoo). Q : How are you going there? A : I'm (taking a bus).
Players four (4) or more
Materials picture cards (one less than the number of players) chairs (one less than the number of players) music player
How to play Place chairs in a circle back-to-back facing outward. There should be one less chair than the number of players. When the music starts all the players march in circle around the chairs. When the music stops players find a chair and sit down as quickly as they can. The player left standing answers a question, while players sitting asks a question. Play several rounds for mastery of the target language..
Have fun and enjoy Musical Chairs with your children!
(This game will need to be adapted to the teaching items you're teaching and the abilities and interests of the children you teach.)
Target Language Q : What is this? A : It's (a book).
Q : Is this (a crayon)? A : Yes, it is. No, it isn't.
Q : Who is this? A : (He) is my (father).
Q : Is (she) your (sister)? A : Yes, (she) is. No, (she) isn't.
Players two (2) or more
Materials picture cards (teacher cards size) color cards (four various color)
How to play Prepare four (4) color cards of various color (should be of the same sizes with the picture cards). Punch a hole of varying sizes on each card (the first card the smallest, the last card the biggest) in the middle. Cover picture cards with these holed color cards. The children are to peep through the holes to identify the picture.
Siklot is one of the most popular games in the Philippines. The game is usually played by children ages from seven to sixteen years old. It can be played with two, three, four or more players. Indoor or outdoor. I remember having great times playing the game at home with my siblings when I was a kid. In those days having a big family was the norm in the Philippines (I have four brothers and a sister), and in those days we don't have the technologies that children of today have, so when the weather (the Philippines has only two types; super hot or lots of rain) was non-cooperative for an outdoor adventures, we gathered around in one part of the living room and played Siklot.
(This game will need to be adapted to the teaching items you're teaching and the abilities and interests of the children you teach.)
Siklot (Reinvented for EFL Class)
Target Language (Q & A ) what who how
Players two (2) or more
Materials picture cards (students playing card size) a table or any flat surface
How to play Determine the order of play. Shuffle the picture cards and deal one each to players, (this card will be use for flicking cards from the pile). Toss the remaining cards in the air. The cards should land on a flat surface, usually in a pile, but sometimes in two or three broken piles. Players say the chant: Flick a card. Flick a card. Start the game. And let's have fun! Players take turn flicking a card from the pile by flipping over, if he is successful, he performs a task (answer a question or ask a question), saves the card to himself and keeps on playing. If he fails to flip over a card, he stops playing and the next player takes turn. The objective of the game is to flip over a card away from the pile. Players keep playing until all cards are gone. The player with the most number of card wins the game.
(This game will need to be adapted to the teaching items you're teaching and the abilities and interests of the children you teach.)
Target Language simple sentences
Players Four (4) or more
Materials some paper and pencils
How to play Instruct players to write four (4) statements about themselves. One of the statements should be false while the other three (3) should be true. Explain that to win is to fool the other player about which is the lie. Allow five (5) to eight (8) minutes for writing statements, then have each player read the four statements and have the group guess the lie. Award a point for every incorrect guess. The winner is the player with the most points.
(note: If the students are not ready to write the statements by themselves, ask them to wishper to you the lie instead.)
Have fun and enjoy Three Truths And A Lie with your children!
(This game will need to be adapted to the teaching items you're teaching and the abilities and interests of the children you teach.)
Target Language sport''s name verbs
Players ten (10) or more
Materials picture cards of different kind of sports
How to play Divide the players into five (5) teams of equal number. Players stand in a circle where each group can observe each other. Assign each group a sport to play with a verb that best describes the sport and the corresponding action such as in the examples below:
Basketball The verb shoot, with the action of both hands up as if throwing an imaginary ball into the basket.
Volleyball The verb spike, with the action of rolling an imaginary ball with the right hand forward.
Baseball the verb hit, with the action of hitting an imaginary ball with both hands swinging from the right.
Football The verb kick, with the action of kicking an imaginary ball with the right foot forward.
Bowling The verb strike, with the action of rolling an imaginary ball with the right hand forward.
Players say the name of their sport, say the verb three (3) times and do the action simultaneously before passing the task to another team such as: Basketball team : Basketball shoot... shoot... shoot to Football kick! While saying Football kick, the group kick an imaginary ball in the direction of the Football team. Football team : Football kick... kick... kick to Baseball hit! While saying Baseball hit, the group hit an imaginary ball in the direction of the Baseball team. The Baseball team do the same and so on...
Disqualify any group which commits mistake, such as lack of synchronization or doing the wrong action for the verb. Do not allow the ball (imaginary) to be passed back to where it directly came.
Have fun and enjoy Sports Festival with your children!
